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New Red Deer ghost to be unveiled at Sorenson Station

Red Deer is about to have yet another ghost on its streets.
C01_Ghosts
The ghost statue of Red Deer Advocate publisher Franbis Galbraith is seen in City Hall Park.

Red Deer is about to have yet another ghost on its streets.

On May 4 the latest addition to the city’s popular bronze ghost sculpture collection will be unveiled to the public. The ghost collection marks people and events from Red Deer’s past.

Waiting for Gordon will be the city’s 10th sculpture and features the figure of Julietta Sorensen, who died in 2004 at the age of 96. Sorensen and her husband Gordon are remembered as Red Deer’s transit pioneers, running the city’s first bus service. Sorensen also operated the Blue Derby Café out of the bus depot.

The six-part sculpture shows Julietta facing south with a coffee cup, encircled by suitcases and roundels (discs mounted on pillars). One roundel features Gordon’s face.

“The ghost is meaningful because the Sorensens were seen on the streets all the time. They were the centre of the community, greeting and feeding people, and taking care of visitors,” said Kristina Oberg, acting Recreation, Parks and Culture Department manager.

The unveiling takes place at 10 a.m. on the sidewalk on the west side of Sorensen Station, the downtown transit terminal on 49 Avenue between 49th and 48th streets.

Mayor Morris Flewwelling, sculptor Brian McArthur, and Brian McLoughlin, the chair of Red Deer’s public art committee will be among those to attend the unveiling.

The east traffic lane will be closed on 49th Avenue between 48 and 49th street from 8 to 11:30 a.m. to make room for an antique bus to be parked on the street. For more information, visit www.reddeer.ca/culture or contact Kristina Oberg at 403-342-8165.

The city ghost project was started in 1994. Other city ghost sculptures in Red Deer’s downtown include newspaper publisher Francis Wright Galbraith, city founder Leonard Gaetz, band director Keith Mann, and rogue escaped slaughterhouse hog Francis the Pig.

For more information about the Red Deer ghost project see Red Deer public art collection at www.reddeer.ca